Soldier Worship
There is an article in the Canadian press today about five parents who flew to Afghanistan to view where their children died and to set up a memorial for them and it made my blood boil. What I find most nauseating is these parents arrogance that their child's life matters; it does not. Their sons volunteered to kill innocent men, women and children for a cause we all know is a lie, a cause that is only serving to make the powerful more so and the rich even richer. If I were Afghani I would be furious beyond measure that my invader was setting up a memorial for a dead man who is directly or indirectly responsible for countless deaths and suffering and misery; commemorating a person with the blood of innocents on his hands is vulgar and insulting to the people of Afghanistan.
These parents exhibit a form of self-worship in elevating their dead children to iconic heights while in a country destroyed and demolished by people like their dead sons and daughters, it's the height of self-importance and selfishness. The pomp and ceremony surrounding these five white families showing up in an a carrier on another peoples land to make more imperialist demands and dig more stakes into other nations all for the lives of five guys? The racist superiority involved in such an act of self-awe is enough to make me want to hurl; these excessive displays of arrogance must feel like a humiliating slap in the face to all the Afghans who have lost dozens of loved members of their own families. This pandering to the condescending self-importance of soldiers and their families is pervasively infecting and destroying the dialogue about the wars in that region and prolonging the killing of innocent Iraqis and Afghans which will further enflame the fury across the globe towards Americas perpetual wars for Israel, oil and power.
These parents behave with such pride and arrogance by creating a media event around themselves and flagrantly disrespecting the tens of thousands killed in Afghanistan by people like their sons, it's a gaudy display of the sense of entitlement and superiority that is so brazenly displayed in North America. This entire spectacle is a drastic departure from the legitimate repulsion directed at soldiers by citizens when objecting to past wars; now, when people express their outrage about the war they immediately follow with a love song about the soldiers seemingly oblivious to the fact that without the soldiers there can be no war. Every time I see a bumper sticker telling me to 'Support the Troops' I fight the overwhelming urge to ram my front end into the car displaying such inane rhetoric; I would no more support the troops than 'Support War Criminals' or 'Support Genocide' or 'Support Imperialism' or 'Support Zionist Expansion' or 'Support the Rapture'.
As the chorus of fascists goes into a chest thumping frenzy about 'terrorists' and 'Muslims' and 'Ay-rabs' and the need to kill even more of this newest scapegoat of Americas imperialist foreign policy, the outrage for the dead innocents of Iraq and Afghanistan is conspicuously silent. Entire families are murdered in Afghanistan and Iraq and little girls are being gang raped and then killed at point blank range and an army of thugs working for the Christian Militia, Blackwater, roam Iraq and kill at will. Soldiers who volunteer to willingly kill innocents for government and corporation have no value; they're as diabolical and murderous to the advancement of the human species as the killers on 9/11.
These parents exhibit a form of self-worship in elevating their dead children to iconic heights while in a country destroyed and demolished by people like their dead sons and daughters, it's the height of self-importance and selfishness. The pomp and ceremony surrounding these five white families showing up in an a carrier on another peoples land to make more imperialist demands and dig more stakes into other nations all for the lives of five guys? The racist superiority involved in such an act of self-awe is enough to make me want to hurl; these excessive displays of arrogance must feel like a humiliating slap in the face to all the Afghans who have lost dozens of loved members of their own families. This pandering to the condescending self-importance of soldiers and their families is pervasively infecting and destroying the dialogue about the wars in that region and prolonging the killing of innocent Iraqis and Afghans which will further enflame the fury across the globe towards Americas perpetual wars for Israel, oil and power.
These parents behave with such pride and arrogance by creating a media event around themselves and flagrantly disrespecting the tens of thousands killed in Afghanistan by people like their sons, it's a gaudy display of the sense of entitlement and superiority that is so brazenly displayed in North America. This entire spectacle is a drastic departure from the legitimate repulsion directed at soldiers by citizens when objecting to past wars; now, when people express their outrage about the war they immediately follow with a love song about the soldiers seemingly oblivious to the fact that without the soldiers there can be no war. Every time I see a bumper sticker telling me to 'Support the Troops' I fight the overwhelming urge to ram my front end into the car displaying such inane rhetoric; I would no more support the troops than 'Support War Criminals' or 'Support Genocide' or 'Support Imperialism' or 'Support Zionist Expansion' or 'Support the Rapture'.
As the chorus of fascists goes into a chest thumping frenzy about 'terrorists' and 'Muslims' and 'Ay-rabs' and the need to kill even more of this newest scapegoat of Americas imperialist foreign policy, the outrage for the dead innocents of Iraq and Afghanistan is conspicuously silent. Entire families are murdered in Afghanistan and Iraq and little girls are being gang raped and then killed at point blank range and an army of thugs working for the Christian Militia, Blackwater, roam Iraq and kill at will. Soldiers who volunteer to willingly kill innocents for government and corporation have no value; they're as diabolical and murderous to the advancement of the human species as the killers on 9/11.
Published by Xian So So
- Supporting the Troops Does Not Mean Supporting the WarLife in Iraq can be very demanding. Supporting the troops does not mean supporting the war. That President Obama has announced to end the war proves that support will definitely not prolong the war.
- No More Lip Service - Let's Actually Support the Troops!Here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania we are supposed to be guaranteed a "republican" form of government. It's in the United States Constitution if you doubt this. Look it up.
President Bush Abandons the Troops yet Again with Threatened Veto of Tro...The Bush Administration continues to say that they support the troops, yet when it comes to dollars and cents, they abandon the troops again and again.- Is it Possible to Support the Troops and Not the War in Iraq?Opinion piece discussing why it's possible to support the troops and yet not support the war in Iraq, explaining why we must support the troops.
Any Soldier.com: Supporting the Troops OverseasAlthough postal regulations do not allow you to send mail to "any soldier" any more, there are still ways that you can support the troops.
- SoldierPortraits.org: Creating Treasures for the Families of Fallen Soldiers
- Support the Troops, but Not Everything They Do
- Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon and Support the Troops Ribbon for MySpace Profiles
- The Failure to Support the Troops
- Support the Troops: 6 Easy Ways to Really Help
- Support the Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Support the Troops by Volunteering!
- Until the draft is reinstated, joining the military is a personal choice and people who volunteer to
- kill for government and war profiteers, death is what they have dedicated their lives to and do not
- warrant pomp and ceremony or respect.
12 Comments
Post a CommentI'm glad that you are actually cutting through all the propaganda and seeing reality. I think history will look back and see the millennium as one of the darkest decades of pro-soldier extremism and war mongering. Every time I see a fallen soldier tribute, without seeing a single fallen Afghanistan civilian tribute, my blood boils. We need a day of remembrance for those who are senselessly slaughtered by the paid killers that we call our heroes.
I too, am against the wars in Afhanistan & Iraq in particular and war in general, but I must say, I find your extreme anger off putting. Extremism of any kind can never lead to peace.
While the author was a bit harsh and too general in his stereotyping, he does hit on some interesting and noteworthy points. Like the vile interests really behind the Iraq invasion. And that there are "bad apples" among the troops, so it is dangerous to not have an open mind. Again, it probably could have been done with a little more tact, but there are some valid points if one reads deep enough.
I addressed the same issue in an article a little over a year ago, check it out at the link.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/42984/american_heroes.html
Well RJT; as in any battle, some will be on either side. As to who threw the first punch, to my knowledge, Medina (Yathrib) did not fall without the help of the blade. There is jurisprudence in some places (east) which state that the son can be made to pay for the crimes of the father! That's not so in America, but you may not know why. Maybe you should grow up and learn the facts with an open mind. Hearts full of hatred always lose; that's a proven historical fact. Blood will flow and people will cry (because of hatred), but you will still lose. It's always a good time to review your options.
By the way, I'll have to pass on your offer to read your short story. I'm open to stories of all political angles - I'm even about to read a bloody Noam Chomsky book (not a story, but a fictional fable to be sure), but they have to be well written. You don't even have basic grammar down yet, so I can hardly see why I'd be interested in your work.
From the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan, American soldiers and their allies have insured your right to spew the garbage you have written. Guess you owe them something. On the other hand why don't you relocate to Iran, North Korea or some other non-democratic nation and write about any governmental or societal systems that you feel don't possess the attributes that you are seeking. Wish you well on your journey.
Keep my comments clean? Like do things other than point out that most of the Iraqis killed in Iraq were at the hands to either other Arabs or fellow Iraqis?
But Deez, you are a least a rational Liberal who is not completely a historical revisionist. Glad to see there are still some out there.
Well, RJ "T" -- wouldn't want to get that wrong, apparently it's of supreme importance to you -- the lovely Taliban you are so sorry we rooted out at the cost of our lives were linked with Al-Qaeda. Afghanistan was a training ground for terrorists. NO ONE has ever disputed that. And as for rapists, the Taliban, despite their supposed Muslim religious convictions, would rape and discard Muslim women. Women had NO rights to life, limb, or anything else. So I have no pity for them. You not only don't seem to believe in love of family, you don't seem to believe in free speech based on your reactions to bumper stickers. What kind of leftist ARE you?
RJT, first of all Afghanistan had it coming 100%. Second of all the blame for the Iraq debacle lies at the top, not with the troops. The troops are doing what their government ask them to. If you want to blame anyone blame the Government. Your attack on the troops is absolutely in poor taste. I am against the Iraq war 100% but I do not blame the troops they are just doing what their commander and chief ask them to. That being said however, the rouge solders committing crimes deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.